RUS Lecture 1

This is the story of the Evil Empire of my youth.

I had grown up being told that on the other end of the world lived a people called the Russians, who were just waiting to destroy America and all the wonderful things it stood for, just because they were [Communist] scum. On the other end of the world, kids were being told that on the other end of the world lived a people called the Americans, who were just waiting to destroy the Soviet Union and all the wonderful things it stood for, just because they were [Capitalist] scum.  I could never envision a day when there would be no Evil Empire.

Russia has been falling apart and reinventing itself for more than 1,000 years. Kievan Rus, which dates back to the invitation of Rurik to Novgorod in 862, fell apart due to weak leadership and unclear lines of succession. In 1237, the Golden Horde conquered Russia but treated it as a group of secondary states, enabling the rise of Moscow. Moscow cemented its status as Russia's first city with the 1480 expulsion of the Mongols, but the nascent empire built by Ivan III, [Vassili III], and [Ivan Grozny] fell almost totally apart during the Time Of Troubles of 1598-1613. The Russians found security in the [Romanov Dynasty] which lasted from 1613 to 1917, producing titans such as Peter The Great and Catherine The Great, and turds like Alexander III and Nicholas II. After 1917, Russia reinvented itself as the Soviet Union but that arrangement collapsed in 1991.

God only knows what Russia will reinvent itself as next. I can't say I am terribly encouraged as of late. In the aftermath of Osama bin Laden's September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, Russian President Vladimir "Pooty" Putin pledged his nation's full and unwavering support in the struggle against terrorism, and his offer was warmly welcomed by United States President George W. Bush. Since that time, however, Russia and the United States find themselves increasingly at odds in world affairs. Although the average Ivan and Katya in the street are neither terrifically well off nor very well versed in world affairs, the Russian government sees itself as a playa in the fast-paced world of today and is developing the financial ability to rebuild what is left of the once-formidable Soviet military structure.